


Snakes, Mice and All Human Vice

by AutumnBluE



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bad at tagging, M/M, enjoy?, first fic dunno what i'm doing, more tags will be added, tragic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-02 13:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21162689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnBluE/pseuds/AutumnBluE
Summary: Eren Yeager was what people would refer to ask the stereotypical 'troublemaker', except worse. After being detained following a botched criminal act, he is given one of two choices: go to juvenille hall or attend therapy. Weekly sessions to which he would simultaneously work at a place assigned to him. Despite initial reluctance, he takes the opportunity, knowing that he will find his way to escape either way.But what he didn't count on was something, or rather someone, that made him want to stay





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooooooo hello! For years I've been reading stuff on here and for years I've been wanting to write. And here it is!  
This isn't my first fanfic that I've written, but it is the one that I've enjoyed writing the most-cried through most of it-and would like to share with everyone else who ships these two as much as I do. There will be weekly updates every Sunday. Also, please comment if there's anything I could improve on as it would create better work for you in the future!
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy reading this and-yeah.

My mother, I had always thought, had the most beautiful eyes. They were warm so that in the winter, even when my body was shot with cold, they cracked through my ice coat like a blazing log fire in a familial fireplace; there would be stockings with each of our names on in large, childish letters, and stuffed to the brim with so many sweets a toothache would begin just by the sight. They held a quiet happiness, even when the world wasn’t happy. As night brought shadows of every kind knocking at our door, she would tell me to look into her eyes and think of something wonderful. Something fantastical. I told her that when I look into her eyes, I could see all of the world’s oceans fill her iris, and that when I truly looked into them, I felt like a pirate about to be sucked into a spontaneous adventure to an island with sand made of gold-literal gold.

“Why that? Do you like the sea?” she asked one time as we huddled into the corner of the stripped room. I was told that the people outside were just bad pirates who thought our house was their treasure island.

I nodded viciously. “I want to live on it one day.”

“Ah, so you want to live like a pirate?”

“Better than a pirate, Mammy. I want to be the best pirate there is. I want to bring you and everyone unhappy on my boat. Then we will look for treasure!”

She chuckled quietly at that. “Do you think treasure can make us happy?”

I looked again in her eyes, basking in the fiery warmth that melted the stagnant thoughts that seemed to freeze alongside my breath, to which puffs of white clouds billowed from my lips. At that time I had a perfect vision of what happiness was. I was thoroughly deceived by my own dreams that I never dared separate them from reality. 

“Yeah. Then we can get all the boats for everyone. Everyone will be happy then.”

It was some time early in the morning, probably around two or three. But I woke up to arguing. At first, it never really registered because when the bad pirates looked for treasure here, they would argue with Dad and slam things in the kitchen. I was ready to dismiss it and the claws of sleep were already pulling at my obedient lids.

“You have no right to do this! Absolutely no right!”

“I am doing what’s best, Cara. You don't see what he is! You never will. So sit the fuck down or go back in the room.”

I was at the door before I even realised. Dad was at the kitchen bench, his head in his hands and breath seething between his teeth. Mam was standing behind him, hair clumped and clothes stained. I stared. Simply stared. I’ve seen every emotion flit through those eyes, but never had I seen this one before. At least, not on her.

“Eren is six, Grisha! Six years old and you-never would I have ever believed you’d do something so barbaric. He is your son. Do you even have any idea what that means anymore?”

“Shut up.”

Suddenly, Mam threw herself in a furious rage, hitting Dad relentlessly on the back, all the while sobbing, “what have you done?” in a relentless, rhythmic mantra. 

“Shut up.”

“How dare you? How fucking dare you! I trusted you when I left my home, my family, my entire life so that I could be with you!”

“I swear to God, Carla, if you-“

“If I what? Are you gonna hit me because I hit you? You hypocrite. For all that you’ve done to our son you deserve hell.”

“I’m warning you-“

“No, I’m warning you,” she said, and this time, I noticed that she held in her emotions. As well as she could do, anyway; her voice was cracked but her determination was solid, the logs of the burning fire in her eyes now spitting embers in rage. “You ruined it for yourself. I’ve spent years waiting for you and you never showed. We’re walking out that door and if you so much as try to stop us, I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you.”

His eyes flashed beneath his draping hair. An ugly frown pulled at his lips. "If you take one step out that door with-"

“Mammy?” Now, this was the part that changed everything. Because from the moment I revealed myself from behind that door-the bad pirate door-my Mam turned to me with eyes blue with surprise, and my Dad turned to plant a glinting knife in her back. Her eyes widened a fraction more and I stood still. Silent. I watched as a stone as she fell to her knees, her eyes glassy and staring at me, and then her head hitting off the floor before my feet. A sea of red flooded from the knife and pooled on the floor.

“Shit, shit, shit! Cara? Cara!”

Dad fussed about Mam for a minute or so, and I watched him change between his many masks: shocked, angry, confused, despair, grief, delusion, and finally, he marched out the door with a suitcase filled with pirate treasure, his mask of ignorance secured tightly in place. He didn’t look back.

It was silent in the house. Usually there was silence anyway, but this was different. I could hear the sound of silence ringing like reaper bells in the kitchen. The light bulb continued to blink erratically in the hallway.

“Mammy?” I still stood over her, her blood having long since soaked my Spiderman socks. Gently, I kneeled beside her head , using both of my nimble hands to guide her eyes towards mine.  
My mother, I had always thought, had the most beautiful eyes. They were so warm that I felt like I was sitting beside a roasting fire in the dead of winter. They were so happy that I couldn’t help but feel happy, too. And they held all of the world’s oceans when, at night, they reflected the thousands upon thousands of flickering stars. The ones that navigators followed to find their way home from sea. At that moment, when I stared in her eyes, I froze, staring back in mute realisation. I don’t know how long I stared or when I started crying, but I eventually pulled her eyelids closed with two fingers and placed a cushion under her head from our room. I pulled on my too-small trainers and Mam’s scarf, wrapping it around myself before leaving the house.

Mammy’s eyes were dark, and they no longer mapped my way home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter, done and dusted! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and felt like this was a definite breather from the previous one. And just a special thanks to Yumna, because that honestly made me feel a tonne more confident with my writing! Best first comment ever :)  
Thanks to everyone reading and I hope you enjoy!

Erwin Smith was a man of many talents. Not that he would brag about it himself, but he nevertheless knew of his capabilities and sharpened them over time to become a very well-acknowledged Deputy Chief Constable of Rose County. He had gained an impeccable reputation that had earned him favour with the rest of the community as well as the respect of every other officer; intelligent but modest, very gentlemanly, exceedingly good at his job and-for all of his admirers, which was many-very, very good looking.

Hot, in other words.

He was currently in his office in the precinct, tentatively sipping his tea as his eyes scanned the documents before him. His eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. Despite his many admirers, he above all else cared about his job. Mainly it was because he could help people, but he also liked to understand the way people act and why. Over the twenty-seven years of being in the police force, building ranks and putting countless criminals behind bars, he had felt as though he understood people a little better. But even so, no matter how much he tries, sometimes people aren’t so easy to read.

“Erwin! I have arrived!” Hange burst into the room, her usual manic glow in her eyes and smug grin. Erwin used to fall off his seat when he first became acquainted with the woman; it then graduated to the odd spill of tea on his neat uniform, before he finally became accustomed to the unusually buoyant greeting. Though, he didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not: was he going to notice an earthquake if one ever did occur?

“Indeed you have,” Erwin nodded, setting his tea on his desk. He was about to smile at her but it froze on his face. Of course. “But why are you so out of breath? Isn’t your office just next to mine?”

“Yeah, but I was at the comic book store-“

“During work?”

“Let me finish,” she scolded. Then she shoved herself into the chair. “I was just passing by but then I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“If you let me finish I’ll let you know what,” Erwin raised his palms in defeat, leaning back in his chair. But he grew concerned when she suddenly started hyperventilating. “I saw a magnificent being. A magnificent creation. His eyes as green as grass. His limbs as supple as…what do you put with supple?”

“A swan?”

“As a swan! His lips as red as my nosebleed-“

“Where is this going? Why are you being poetic?”

“His cheekbones as sharp as the blade he stabs me in the heart with-“

“Hange, I’ve got something really important I need to talk-“

Suddenly she leapt on top of her chair, placing her left boot atop Erwin’s desk. “His buttocks as voluptuous as dainty mushrooms! His hair as brown as brown hair and his hands as soft as your shaved face!” she finished, patting his cheeks with a giddy grin. 

Erwin had never seen Hange in such a delirious manner before. He simply sat there in quiet shock, watching Hange slowly climb back into her chair. At this point, he would usually ask her to leave. It would take a few bribes such as trips to Shiganshina Village-the most historic village anywhere around-or going to the club. But he realised that this would be a lot more serious- she was giggling to herself as she leaned back in her own chair again.

Shaking his head, he placed both elbows on the desk, putting the documents to the side. “Okay, first of all, I have no idea what you were talking about. But-“ he raised a finger and she quickly fell silent-“in ten words or less. Go.”

“I SAW A GUY THAT LOOKED LIKE THE GUY IN THE MANGA I’VE BEEN FOLLOWING.”

It was silent for a moment. Hange twiddled her fingers.

“That was more than ten words.”

Hange sighed dramatically, waving her hands. “But you don’t understand, you uncultured, good-looking man! He looked exactly like the protagonist. Not a thing was different. So, you know, I… Well-“

“Wait, don’t tell me. You tackled the guy and demanded to run tests on him. How many times have I told you about this? A hundred? A thousand?”

“You were closer the first time.”

“Besides the point,” Erwin shook his head. Sighing, he looking between his fingers; Hange was frowning, now. “Go on. What happened?

“After I asked him, he glared at me.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad-“

“Oh, but it was! It was like all the souls of hell were sent charging towards me! He then went all psycho. He threw me halfway across the room and was about to make a grab for me when the security in the place pinned him to the ground. Although, it took about ten of them to do so. Seven of them were knocked down before they got a hold of him,” she said it almost as a compliment on the last half.

“Hange, you could have seriously gotten hurt,” Erwin said, but he knew that Hangi wouldn’t have cared about that in the least.

“Oh, but what a beautiful specimen! When they were taking him away to their back room to be detained, I lay there weeping. Weeping, godly man! But alas, he was dragged away from me. I will never forget the way his green-as-grass eyes burned coals of hatred into my condemned soul!”

Deciding that there was nothing he could do but let her vent, he just picked up the documents as he waited for Hange to calm down. He again would occasionally sip his tea. Only when he’d finished the entire cup, he looked back up. “Better?”

“Better.”

“So will you listen, now?” Hange nodded, sitting up in her chair.

“Reportin’ for duty, Cap’n!”

He didn’t bother reacting. “I’ve been looking over this case for the past week. I’ve been thinking on this one a lot. For someone as young as him, he has a very extensive criminal record.”

“Nineteen?”

“Seventeen.”

Hange whistled.

“I know. There’s been robbery, forging, possession of illegal firearms, and that’s just to note a few things. The majority of what he’s done is still a mystery to us. He’s been fairly cooperative with us for the past week we’ve been interrogating him, and that’s how we’ve managed to get so far.”

Hange rubbed her chin in confusion. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why would he do that?”

Erwin shook his head. “That’s the thing. I have no idea. But I have a feeling that this wasn’t to be courteous. The boy’s got an ulterior motive.”

“You’re talking like the kid’s a mini John Wick but evil.”

“No, he’s much more than that. I think he’s hiding something.”

Hange nodded thoughtfully. “That does sound dodgy. If I was being interrogated and had absolutely no evidence of previous crimes on me, I’d at least be trying to act innocent,” she agreed. Then she titled her head. “You’ve told me this much, but why did you need to tell me that?”

At this, for the first time all day, Erwin smiled. A familiar glint of mischief sparked in his eyes. “I think he would be absolutely perfect.”  
Hange blinked. She narrowed her eyes. “Now you’re confusing me.”

“They would be absolutely perfect. He should be arriving here tomorrow, so I’m sure that he would take it. He would definitely take him on if it’s from me. I’ll throw in a couple words. He’ll do it.”

“And you call me the insane one? Who are you talking abou-“ then the lightbulb clicked in her head. Suddenly, an evil grin split across her face. If she smiled anymore, Erwin wouldn’t doubt she’d look like the devil incarnate. “Ohhh, you mean him,” she snickered. “Now that I think about it, that’s a brilliant idea! Maybe the midget’s sky-high ego might be knocked down a few pegs. Hey, you may be getting old, my Herculean child, but your noggin’s still ticking!”

Erwin nodded, and he felt a blossom of something he’d never felt. It was the most genius thing he’d ever thought of to date. “Yes. This will work. I’ll call him now.”

He quickly shifted in his chair, leaning over to grab the phone. As he did so, Hangi swiped the document. Her face lit up in manic glee.

The phone picked up. “What the fuck do you want, Eyebrows?”

“THAT’S BLOODY MANGA GUY!”


End file.
